Playing Is Educational

This classic game makes a great addition to any party or playground activity! 

Ring Toss Games are fun and educational games that can be played indoors or outdoors by a wide range of age groups.

They can be played by one person or by a group.  When played in a group setting, your child can learn about taking turns. 

Younger children can stand closer for success (Ring Drop) and as their eye-hand coordinination improves, spread the posts further apart to create a more challenging game.  This will also help them develop their wrist movement skills.  

Your child can practice his or her counting skills through scoring.

Keep your child actively playing with this Fun-A-Saurus!

This 5 piece puzzle-like play structure can be assembled and disassembled to allow your child to have hours of fun. 

They can assemble all 5 pieces together and create a dinosaur-like character (like Puff the Magic Dragon) and they could imagine riding it to mystical places. 

They can attach the head and tail pieces to one center piece to create a sitting rocker! 

The 3 middle pieces can be assembled to create a ring (measures 34″ outside diameter and 22″ inside diameter) that can be used for other creative play activities or for your child to sit in. 

Construction Grid Blocks are heavy-duty low maintenance construction blocks that are perfect for young builders to use either indoors or outdoors.  These 12″ durable blocks are just right for your child’s hands and attach easily together allowing them to imagine and build their own castles and tunnels.

After the construction is done, they can have hours of fun playing with their own creations.

To play means to learn. Early childhood development is the phase where kids still experience life in a more holistic way. Social, emotional, cognitive, language and physical lessons are learned collectively and not as separate modules as adult usually see them. Early childhood is when experts have proven that a child can learn five languages or more at the same time.

The early childhood years should be supplemented with constructive toys that are proven to be effective in the development of child’s psychomotor skills and behavior. In children with behavioral and mental disabilities, such toys are much more beneficial. The colors and functionality of each toy stimulate a child’s ability to do simple physical activities. Activity toys help exercise a child’s agility that will help him later in daily rituals such as brushing teeth, combing hair, and even writing his own name. 

Your children will love to learn about basic mechanical concepts by playing with Gears! Gears! Gears!  These early childhood toys will provide your children with hours of entertainment as they increase their color skills, small moter skills, and eye-hand coordination.  

In the early years of a child, it is essential for them to learn their ABCs and phonics.  This will help them with the vocabulary and reading skills that are required to strive in their later years of school, college, and with their careers.

Sometimes the problem for children trying to learn their ABCs is that they lose interest.  We, as parents and teachers, need to be creative in the ways we teach them so that they don’t even realize they are learning.

There are many early childhood toys and products that can be used.  These products can range from electronic toys like the Alphabet Pal or Spin & Sing Alphabet Zoo to other develpmental toys like the EZ as ABC Purple Pebble Activity Set, Alphabet puzzles or board games like the Dr. Seuss ABC Game.

Whatever method you select to help your child learn their ABCs, realize that it is an essential part of their education and will help them for a lifetime.

So make it as fun as possible and enjoy yourself!

2008 will be a year to remember.  As the economy has turned against all of us financially this year, we all have to become wise about our money and purchasing decisions.  It is important to teach your child about financial responsibility.  When your child is young, teach him about the value of coins and dollars.  Teach him the math that goes along with the value: 10 pennies = 1 dime; 10 dimes = 1 dollar; etc… 

Pretend play store at your home.  Use groceries out of your cupboards or use pretend plastic foods, boxes, and cans.  Teach them about buying decisions and what is a good value and ones that are not.  You can be the cashier and your child can be the purchaser; allow him to pay for the groceries with play money.

Your child will learn the value of money and how to make buying decisions, which will be important in his future.  

If you want to have a little bit for fun with your children tonight, but you want to do something educational – consider playing Dominoes.

By playing with Dominoes, your children can increase their math skills, by learning about whole numbers and fractions in either pictorial or numerical forms.  They can also learn pattern recognition, color & shape recognition, and practice their fine motor skills.

So give Dominoes a try!

In a world full of electronic gadgets like TV, electronic hand-held games, and computers, sometimes us adults forget how important it is to allow our children to play with other educational toys.  Maybe we don’t even imagine how an ordinary toy is more then just entertainment.  For example, what is your first thought of when you hear of a lacing activity?  Did you just yawn? 

Well, lacing activities are very educational to your child.  By providing your child with a lacing activity, your child will increase his/her development skills like: hand-eye coordination; fine motor skills; and problem solving.  

Not only that, allowing your child to play with lacing activities can also help your child to learn about geometric shapes, colors, animals, and even the alphabet.  Check them out for yourself!

Children learn through play and exploration of their environment. They love to squish things, put them in their mouths and touch textures to form their impressions of various objects.

Enhance learning in this curious stage by giving your child early childhood toys that are certified safe and child-friendly. Check each toy’s age appropriateness to ensure an optimum educational experience for your child.